


Cat Food

by NaClFairy



Category: Black Star -Theater Starless- (Video Game)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23082280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaClFairy/pseuds/NaClFairy
Summary: Not even the stray cats in the alley can get away from Starless shenanigans.
Kudos: 15





	Cat Food

There was a cat living at Starless. Well, not _at_ Starless, but in the alley behind it. No one knows how it got there, or when, but it was clear enough the cat didn’t want to leave.

It was a vocal little thing, meowing for food and attention every time the back door opened. Absolutely shameless. But who could blame it? The poor thing had no home, no loving human to call it their own cat and spoil endlessly with a warm bed and toys.

Each time someone went out back-- to take out the trash, go on a break, whatever-- the cat would gather all its courage and put on a grand display of hunger. Most ignored it, some would give its fuzzy head a scratch, and then there were the select few who took it upon themselves to raise the cat.

All without telling another soul. With his habit of feeding cats, Ginsei was more than ready to buy an extra bag of food to share.

At least once a day he would sneak out during break to offer the yummy pellets on a plastic tray. And without ceremony, the cat dove right into the meal. 

"Slow down, there’s plenty left.” He chided, not that it’d understand.

Crunching sounds and the occasional meow could be heard as it scarfed down one mouthful after another. Gray ears twitched, prompting Ginsei to reach down and give it a few scratches. The cat purred in response.

In the wild workplace that was Starless, this cat acted as his therapy. Unlike the cast, it wouldn’t start an argument or shirk its duties-- like a _certain_ red haired ex-host-- and it was just an adorable ball of fluff.

Since the cat didn’t live in the shop, any number of things could happen to it. Thus Ginsei was always sure to keep note of how it acted, his lavender eyes trained to pick out any signs of illness or injury right away. Thankfully, he saw none, but…

“Did you get a little bigger?”

“Meow!” The cat threw an almost offended meow and glared at him before continuing to eat.

Maybe it was his imagination. After all, Ginsei was sure he hadn’t overfed, and he’d never seen anyone else giving the cat food.

“That’s all for today, okay?”

His break was over. Ginsei gave the cat one last scratch behind the ears and back inside.

\---

When it came time for his next cat feeding and therapy, Ginsei was sure of it. “You _are_ getting chubbier…” He picked up the cat, which meowed in protest, but did nothing else to resist. Sure enough, it was heavier and donned an extra layer of pudge near the belly.

“Who else is feeding you huh, little guy?”

A dirty paw batted at his face, hitting the lock of hair that always stuck up no matter how hard he tried to style it down. Guilt gnawed at him for doing so, but this time, the cat would be getting less food. It was for the sake of its health.

 _‘Who else could be feeding it?’_ he wondered, and kept wondering throughout his shift. Maica, maybe? The singer did come off as a cat person...but he couldn’t picture Maica with the stray. Too bad Ginsei wasn’t familiar with anyone outside of work; it would’ve made this a lot easier.

Still, he wasn’t giving up. For the cat’s sake, a conversation needed to happen between him and the mysterious feeder.

Hours passed, guests came and went, and as he was getting ready to leave, Ginsei was stopped at the entrance by Yakou. The youth looked rather sheepish as he spoke, explaining his situation with class at the university. “So would you mind trading shifts with me for that day?”

“It’s no problem.”

\---

There was no grand expectation from the shift trade. Ginsei was aware the cat might be out of sorts not being fed at the usual time, but that couldn’t be helped. He still brought the food regardless.

Break time rolled around, and he could already hear shrill meows before opening the door.

“It must be hungry…”

Ginsei expected a moody cat awaiting him on the other side of the door. But what he got was Kokuyou-- with a cigarette resting between his fingers in one hand, and a bag of cat food gripped tightly in the other.

Time must’ve stopped. Neither of them moved. All that could be heard was frustrated meows from the ground-- the cat’s way of saying ‘feed me already!’.

After what felt like hours, Ginsei finally spoke, cautiously asking the leader of Team W what he was doing here. “

I’m on break,” came the gruff reply, followed by a drag of the cigarette. No way would he admit what the damning evidence in his hands suggested.

“...then what’s that for?” Ginsei pointed to the bag. Kokuyou could deny it all he wanted, but that was clearly a bag of cat food. Team K’s Number Two could see brown kibbles in the clear part of the packaging, which by the way, had a cartoonishly drawn cat licking its mouth next to it. Hell, the bright text at the top of the bag even said it was cat food!

More silence. “What the hell are you getting nosey about?” Oh great, now he was mad. “It’s my lunch.”

Clearly it wasn’t. Even the cat knew that.

Speaking of which, that cat he’d set out to feed was no closer to actually eating, and had now resorted to singing the song of its people. It went back and forth between both men, pawing and meowing, pawing and meowing.

Any more of this stand-off, staring contest-- whatever you call it-- and both of their breaks would be over without a single morsel being given out. The cat was hungry, impatient, and about to lose its freaking mind! Before it could, Kokuyou opened up the bag.

Green eyes widened and glistened in the faint light of the back alley. The cat had what one might call a smile on its face and even started drooling. At last! Food! God, it could even hear the rustling of the pellets in the bag when that large hand reached in to grab a handful.

Then Kokuyou brought the food to his mouth and ate it.

“Meow?!”

Both Ginsei and the cat were surprised. No, more like shocked.

He didn’t know what to say. Ginsei’s mind totally blanked out. It wasn’t until a claw dug into his ankle that he finally snapped out of it.

“Oww! Okay, I get it. Here…”

In record time, he poured the food into the plastic dish, gave the cat a scratch under the chin, and beat a hasty retreat back into Starless.

\---

Once the door slammed shut, Kokuyou let out a sigh he didn’t realize he’d been holding. W’s leader dumped his share of food into the dish and proceeded to smoke cigarette after cigarette. Half a pack of smokes later, the taste of kibble left his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the weird conversations that happen in the discord server. We have a lot of fun there.


End file.
